


A Girl in the forest

by LittleMadLad



Series: A Girl in the forest. [1]
Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fae Magic, Other, Pixies, Shrinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMadLad/pseuds/LittleMadLad
Summary: A fun little tale about a Girl who loves to draw and one day spots a Pixie in the forest and becomes obsessed with drawing him. Cute, safe and chill. A dash of angst on the side for flavour. Also maybe I made a semi detailed, interactable map for the world it takes place in and you can check it out here: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/gothea-tiny-angery/map/4b7f149b-2fae-4bc6-8627-12e4e7b5c3c5?fbclid=IwAR1CK1yzWy8nLF1n6yHQzgAfEmjp2L86n-itK4n98dB_xpeOzQuF1EhC6dU
Series: A Girl in the forest. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789312
Kudos: 2





	1. A walk in the forest

The rain pattered gently down off the leaves and down the trunks of the towering redwoods as Roslin made her way along the overgrown forest path. She had her leather-bound sketch book and a charcoal pencil tucked under one arm and a water skin in the other. She always enjoyed the rainy days. She felt they gave the forest a very peaceful, relaxed aura. The trail she followed was an old logging trail, large ferns overhung on either side of the path and she pushed past them and stepped over gnarled roots that stretched and winded along the path. A few minutes later she found herself at her favourite spot. Surrounded by greenery was the old rotten stump of an enormous redwood overlooking a small creek out of which grew a smaller, younger Oak tree. Younger in that it was just shy of a century old unlike the remains of the redwood from which it now grew. The redwood stump itself was far older. She climbed up the stump's withered roots and sat down under the trunk of the Oak tree, nestling into a small nook at the base that was surprisingly comfy. And had the added bonus of being sheltered from the rain by the tree's overhanging boughs.

She laid out her sketchbook on her lap and sat back a moment with her eyes closed simply enjoying the gentle sound of the rainfall and the murmur of the overfull creek. She took a deep breath, pulling in the scent of the forest. "That never gets old." She said to herself aloud. She unbound her sketch book and flicked past the older drawings. She had drawn the stump a dozen times from every angle as well as the creek. She'd drawn her father and brother almost as many times. She had sketched a mock portrait of herself and even a sketch of the boy she harboured a secret crush on back in town. She kept flipping through the drawings, lingering on her favourites, until she finally came to a blank page about 2/3 through the book. "I'm going to need another new sketchbook soon. Dad's going to be ticked off I've burned through this one so quickly." She said to herself with a guilty laugh. She even already had her next book picked out. A thick black leather volume in Mr. Omstead's shop, twice as large as her current sketchbook. And about three times as expensive. Thankfully paper and books were cheap in Woodman's March compared to many other towns. In a place like Tulden or Gatkin that volume would easily have cost an entire week's food allowance. 

She chewed on the end of her pencil trying to decide what she would spend the afternoon drawing. "What will it be today? The canopy?" She had finished her chores early and had plenty of time to herself today and so had time to try her hand at choosing a more meaty, challenging subject. As if in answer to her question she heard a slight breaking of a branch on the far side of the creek. The underbrush rustled slightly and a moment later a fluffy, red fox emerged from the undergrowth to drink from the creek. "Oh yes!" Whispered Roslin as loud as she dared. "Now you just stay right there and hold still Mister Fox. Today you have the honour of being my muse." Her eyes quickly darted back and forth between the fox and the page. She focused on the outline of the fur and the shape of his body. Her tongue stuck at an odd angle as she furiously scribbled, getting lost in her work. Hoping to get a good baseline to work off of before the fox inevitably darted away. She always did best work when nobody was around to watch or distract her. The very reason she went so far out into the forest to find a place to draw. Little did she know she wasn't actually alone and was being watched by a rather annoyed forest dweller who sat not ten feet above her on one of the Oak tree's overhanging smaller branches.

Kamik had heard the human girl's approach long before he saw her. It had caused him to sit back and groan in frustration. He'd just started feasting on a particularly juicy black raspberry. A single large berry was all Kamik needed for a good meal seeing as how he stood only a few inches tall. He watched the young girl approach through the greenery and nestle down against the tree's trunk as she had a hundred times before. His jet-black eyes watching her with a distinctly distasteful expression. Unbeknownst to the girl, Kamik's home was tucked away in the densest part of the oak tree, in a hollow near the centre of its canopy. His moth-like wings twitched slightly in frustration. For a year Kamik had lived here peacefully and undisturbed. Until little over a year ago this girl had discovered the Oak tree and taken a liking to it. Kamik had a distinct dislike of humans. He found them annoying, disruptive and destructive. It might not have quite been so bad if this particular human didn't have a strong penchant for talking to herself. Almost every day for a year she had shown up here to annoy him for hours on end with her prattle. His sister Kamla and some of the other pixies in the area told him he should just find a new home. There were plenty of other places a pixie could make into a comfortable home. But Kamik sternly refused to move. He loved his tree home. It was the perfect home. Entirely suited to his taste. The only mark against it being this particular unwanted frequent visitor. He was determined to outlast her. Each day she left he fervently dreamed that this would be the last time he saw her. That she'd finally go find some other person to annoy. But sadly, it wasn't a dream that didn't look like it was going to come true anytime soon. "Who's a pretty fox? It's you! Oh yes, it's you" Cooed the human below him as she sketched a nearby fox while simultaneously talking to it as if it were a child. Kamik knew her name was Roslin, she talked to and addressed herself often enough for him to have picked it up but he refused to apply it. Humans weren't worth the effort of distinguishing one from another. 

Kamik sighed and fluttered up to a higher branch, his wings beating quickly but softly as they carried him upwards. He came to rest on a thin, spindly branch near the tree's top. A little further away from the girl and her incessant prattling. He held up his berry and was about to take a large bite when an even larger drop of rain landed directly on his head, flattening his hair and drenching his collar. "What did I do to deserve this?" Asked Kamik dourly to nobody in particular. He laid back onto the branch letting the berry fall from his hands and plummet to the ground below. "Ach, No!" Came the girl's voice a moment later. She sounded annoyed and distressed in equal measure. Perhaps she was being eaten by a wolf. Wouldn't that be nice? Kamik sat up and peered down at her. The berry had landed squarely on her sketchbook and its sticky juice had spattered across the page, blurring part of her drawing. Even better was that her distressed exclamation had spooked the fox which darted off into the bushes. Kamik chuckled lightly to himself. 'I should do that more often' he thought to himself. He had made something of a habit of dropping things on the girl from time to time and she had never noticed it was him. Or that he even existed. Usually he dropped acorns but he'd never tried a berry. He was quite pleased with the result. As he sat there smiling to himself another raindrop splatted against his head, instantly washing away any goodwill and turning his smile into a frown. Kamik rolled his eyes and wiped the water from his face, shook off the droplets on his wings and wordlessly fluttered downwards towards the creek. If he was going to get all wet, he might as well get a drink while he did it. A few seconds later he was standing on the creek's edge hidden behind some stalks of grass and a fern on its bank. He knelt down and cupped his hands to collect some of the water. He kept his wings carefully folded behind him, ensuring they stayed as dry as possible. Pixie wings were durable, strong and even healed quickly but wet wings were very difficult to fly with. They made it hard to keep a good balance. After Kamik drank his fill, he focused on his reflection trying to get his hair into some semblance of order. He had an engagement with Kamla later tonight and he was determined to look his best for it. 

Roslin groaned in frustration as she tried to wipe away the berry juice and only succeeded in further smudging her drawing. And her muse had darted off into the forest to boot. "Well great, juuuuust great. Damn squirrel." She figured it must have been a squirrel that had dropped the raspberry. This was an Oak tree after all and they weren't notorious for growing berries. "What am I supposed to draw now? Some ferns for the fifteenth time?" She looked at her smudged drawing of the fox. It had been coming along quite nicely. "This is pretty good I've gotta say, I've impressed myself." She decided she'd try and salvage it or at least try and recreate it on the next page. But first she wanted to have a drink. She set her sketch book aside for a moment and grabbed her water skin, uncorked the cap, brought it to her lips and upended it. It felt light. All that came out were a few measly droplets. She realized she'd forgotten to fill it before she left. "I knew I had forgotten something." She stood up, grabbing her sketchbook which she made a point to never leave behind after she'd lost one last year. She pushed through the undergrowth at the creek's edge and knelt down beside it. She dunked her waterskin into the cool water and let it fill. She scanned her eyes up and down the bank hoping the fox she'd scared off was still thirsty. She'd just given up hope when she spotted movement across the water on the opposite bank out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze followed the movement and fell upon something that definitely wasn't a fox. At first Roslin couldn't even figure out what she was looking at. It looked almost like an impossibly small person. Only the person had strange bug-like wings sprouting from their shoulders, draped over their back. They seemed preoccupied with the water in front of them and hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet. It took her a few moments to collect her thoughts before she realized what she was looking at. It was a pixie! It had to be! It took everything she had not to squeal in excitement. She'd heard old tales from her grandmother about pixies but had never actually seen one. Almost nobody ever had. And most of them were labeled as liars. This was easily a once in a lifetime opportunity. She not only was seeing a pixie but so close up as well! A scant few feet of water separated them. Breathlessly Roslin reached over to grab her sketchbook. She moved as slowly yet as quickly as she dared. She opened it to a fresh page near the back of the book and began scribbling as fast as she could. Her eyes never away from the Pixie for more than a second or two.

Kamik wasn't at all satisfied with the state of his current look. He spent a few minutes trying to flatten down his hair in the back and puff it up in the front. He had little success. 'Fine I'll just have to go grab my comb' he thought to himself defeatedly. He couldn't hear the human girl's chatter anymore and so happily assumed she'd finally gone home. This assumption was shattered as he stood up and looked across the creek. The human was right there. Half sitting, half crouching on the opposite bank, sketchbook and pencil in hand. Her eyes darted back and forth between her book.....and himself. Their eyes met and Kamik couldn't stop himself from taking in a sharp intake of air. They both froze. Gazing at one another for what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds at most. Kamik couldn't move. His mind had stopped working. The girl was RIGHT THERE. STARING. At HIM. She looked just as surprised as he felt. Kamik could hear his own pulse thundering in his head. Then the girl moved, only slightly. Barely a twitch but that was all the encouragement Kamik needed.

Roslin couldn't believe her luck. She'd never scribbled so fast in her life. Already she knew she could never do this pixie's drawing justice with just a few quick glances. He was like nothing she'd ever seen. His large brown wings folded up delicately behind him. He looked strange, alien and mysterious. Otherworldly. He had all sorts of patterns and markings running up and down his wings she didn't have the time to make out the details of. His limbs were long and slender. He wore a strange and beautiful layered green, white and brown garment that looked almost like a dress. His movements were graceful and controlled. Roslin looked down at her sketch to get a sense of how much she'd gotten and what she'd missed. She looked back up at the pixie and her breath caught in her throat. He was staring directly at her. If she'd found him mysterious and otherworldly before seeing his face only amplified this effect. The sides of his pale face were lined with dark spots that ran along the hinge of his jaw and up passed his ear into his hairline. His eyes were his most striking future. They were entirely black. No visible iris or sclera. Just an all-encompassing dark pupil. They drank in the light. They seemed so large for such a small head. Without thinking Roslin moved to bring her sketchbook up a bit higher so she wouldn't have to look away so far to keep drawing. But the twitch of her arm spooked the pixie and in the blink of an eye he took off into the air, his magnificent wings spread out behind him, visible for only a moment before he took off into the air and disappeared into the leaves above.

Without thinking he turned around and jumped into the air, his wings fluttering so furiously they kicked up the leaves beneath him as he flew up and away as fast as he could to disappear into the canopy. He flew up the highest branches of a nearby redwood, easily over a hundred feet above the ground below in just a few seconds. He practically smashed into the branch as he scrambled along it to the tree's trunk which he clung to as he heaved in and out with heavy breaths. He'd been seen by a human. THAT human of all humans. Just his luck. Kamik spent the better part of an hour tucked away up on the branch determined to stay hidden and not be sighted again and trying to calm himself down.

Roslin was awestruck. She didn't bother trying to chase after the pixie but rather sat down on the creek's soggy bank doing her best to sketch out as much of the pixie's appearance while the memory was still fresh in her mind. She drew his wings, his face; his striking eyes. She was breathless. He hand flew across the page. She could worry about details later. She sat there for an hour at least before a distant thunderclap startled her out of her rapturous scribbling. Her eyes darted around hoping to see the pixie again. But no such luck. But unlucky was the last thing she felt at the moment. She stood up quickly and hurried back along the path back towards town, clutching her sketchbook as quickly as her feet could carry her. Not even realizing she'd left behind her waterskin on the bank "Da is never gonna believe this!" She squealed as she sprinted through the forest. She managed to only trip over the roots along the path twice. The bruises and grime didn't matter to her. She'd seen a pixie! and actual real-life pixie!


	2. Down by the stream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roslin goes looking for her Pixie. Determined to find him again.

"Dad I'm telling you! I SAW a Pixie! I'm not crazy!" Yelled Roslin across the dinner table at her father.As the sound of the storm outside was drowned out by her voice. "I didn't say you were crazy I SAID you probably just imagined it. Now eat your peas." He said, gesturing with his fork dismissively. Roslin had spent the last 2 hours ranting to her family trying to convince them of what she had seen. She pulled out her sketchbook and flipped to the page that contained the drawing of the pixie and held it up. "Look! That's him!' Her father looked unconvinced as he sat chewing his steak. "Hey you know the rules missy! No drawing at the dinner table!" He said sternly. "Yeah C'mon give it a rest Roz. Ain't nobody gonna believe you saw a fairy." Came her younger brother's whiny, high pitched creaky voice from her left. He was young, thin and wiry with a greasy mop of hair. He'd just hit puberty and so was prone to constant voice breaks. "Yeah just like NOBODY is ever going to believe YOU kissed Susie Myers!" Roslin shot back at her brother. Her brother's face went red. "I did I swear!" He yelled back, the final syllable turning into a high pitched yelp. "Mmhmm riiiiight just like when you fought off that bear that nobody else saw." Said Roslin, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "ENOUGH!" Shouted her father loudly and violently enough to shake his bushy brown beard back and forth. "Would you two PLEASE just leave eachother alone for five minutes and eat your dinner? Markus, stop having a go at your sister. Roslin, book down. Eat your bloody peas." It was clear her father considered the matter settled. Roslin sat back into her chair with a huff. She rolled her peas around her plate back and forth with her fork and poked at her steak uninterestedly. She felt a cold, soft hand wrap around and gently squeeze her right. She looked over to see the smiling, wrinkled face of her grandmother. "I believe you sweetling. If you says you saw a pixie then I say you damn well saw one." said Roslin's grandmother with a stern nod of her head. "Ma for heaven's sake don't encourage her." Came her father's voice. Her Grandma turned and looked at her father severely. "Henry Collins Baffadey! I've been around on this earth a lot longer than you! Longer than everyone else in this room combined in fact! And I think I may just know a thing or two so keep your trap shut when your mother is telling you what's what!" No it was her father's turn to slump back in his chair. Roslin and Markus laughed seeing their big strong father cowed by his fragile old mother. "Yeah well you also thought that a mug on the floor the other day was a rat, mum so I don't think 'knowing a thing or two' means you're always right." Came her father's surly reply. "Pahhhh,So my eyes aren't what they used to be what of it?" Asked her grandmother dismissively. The conversation at the dinner table quickly descended into another back and forth. The topic of Roslin's pixie sighting entirely forgotten. She lost all interest in the conversation and shoveled her peas into her mouth and tore apart her steak in a few minutes not even really taking the time to enjoy it. She swallowed the last bit of meat and pushed back her chair and made for the front door. "And where exactly do you think you're going?" Asked her father. "I'm going back out to look for the Pixie!" Said Roslin as if the answer were painfully obvious. She grabbed her coat off the rack. Her father raised an eyebrow. "In the dark?....In the rain?.....In a storm....In the forest?....." The rain continued to patter against the dining room window. Roslin groaned in frustration. "Ugghh FINE." She slowly and unhappily set her coat back up on the rack. "You'll thank me when you don't get eaten by a bear my dear." Roslin scoffed. "But I'm going back out there first thing in the morning!" Her father shrugged. "Sure thing. Just as soon as you finish helping your brother chop up what's left of that cord of firewood out back" Roslin groaned again even louder. "She fixed her brother with a stoney eyed glare. "If you sleep in again I'm going to dump spider's in your bed while you sleep to wake you up." Markus's face went pale. Roslin knew full well her brother was a raging arachnophobe and never hesitated to use that knowledge against him. Without another word Roslin stalked off upstairs to her room. She lit a candle and carried it over to her desk in front of her window.   
Three hours later Roslin was still sketching the pixie's likeness. Everyone else had long since gone to bed meanwhile she was still busy pouring over her drawings. This time not in her sketchbook but on the loose brown sheets of paper she usually reserved for painting. She was obsessed. Seeing the pixie had ignited a passion inside her. She still felt fluttery and excited. She had to know more. To see him again. She'd completed a half dozen rough sketches of him. Including two focusing just on his eyes. But as she tried to draw his wings she realized full well that there was no point. She'd only seen them in their full glory for a fraction of a second. And the memory was already slipping away, getting hazy. She gave up on this sketch for now and pushed it aside. She reached out and grabbed her sketchbook. Running a hand gently over her drawings of the pixie so as not to smudge them. "I AM going to find you again little guy. I don't care how long it takes." His alien eyes seemed to stare back at her just as they had before. She let out a lengthy yawn. "I'll find you I swear. Even if I've gotta camp out in the damn forest." She rubbed a sleepy tear from her eye as her vision blurred. Her candle was starting to burn low. Looking out her window she saw nothing but pitch black only interrupted by the dim lights of the other houses in town. "Dammit why can't I go looking now?" She muttered around another yawn.She rubbed at her eyes. "Ugh fine FINE!" She put down her sketchbook only to pick it right back up. She grabbed the candle and carried it over her bedside table and set it down. She laid out her outfit for tomorrow on the floor and changed into her nightwear. She didn't want to waste a single second tomorrow. She wanted to be off to the forest as soon as possible with no delays. She pulled back the covers on her bed and slipped in snugly. Already she could tell she was tired enough that the moment she laid back she would fall asleep. She sat up and opened her sketchbook and left it open next to the candle on the page that she'd first started drawing the pixie. She spent another minute admiring it. "See you tomorrow my little friend." She turned and blew out the stubby remains of her candle as she fell back and pulled the covers over her head and was quickly whisked away into sleep. She dreamt of pixies flitting through the forest all night long. 

Kamik sat in his sister's home at a large wooden table. He'd gone there straight after his encounter with the human. Kamla had made her home in the hollowed out trunk of a pine tree. Truthfully she'd stolen it from a squirrel she'd chased off and just made some renovations. It was an impressive sight, winding far up the trunk of the tree. In a similar style to his own house. And almost as impressive. Almost. She had lined the walls in spiral patterns with dyes and carvings. As well as impressive murals. large pelts and lanterns stuffed with glowworm essence hung from the ceiling and walls illuminating the hollow. Personal areas, a bed, a kitchen and workshop set embedded into the walls higher up. All suspended above the common area as the base of the hollow with no direct connection to it. After all, pixies had very little use for stairs. The subtle changes and additions were usually what occupied Kamik's thoughts whenever he visited his sister. They were after all very competitive with one another and he couldn't afford to fall behind. But right now his thoughts couldn't be farther from the decor. All he could think about was the human girl who'd seen him. Much to the dismay of his sister and her other guest. Her other guest being a pixie by the name of Minik. Kamla had 'Accidentally" forgotten to mention that she'd invited someone else. No doubt in another underhanded attempt to match him up with another pixie in the hopes he'd become their partner. But Kamik didn't care in the slightest about his sister's attempt's to play matchmaker. "Yes I couldn't agree more Minik! Wouldn't you agree Kamik?" Kamik had no clue what they were discussing. So he pretended to know. "Hmm? Oh yes yes. Absolutely. Definitely. All the time." He replied. Minik laughed nervously and Kamla put her head between her hands in defeat. 

A few minutes later Minik made her excuses and said that it was time for her to go, despite Kamik's sister's protests. Minik cited the inclement weather as her reason to hurry, said her goodbyes and off she went. As Kamla saw her out and closed the rounded door behind her she turned and rounded on Kamik. "Kamik! What the HELL was that?! What's gotten into you? So you weren't interested in her fine, my bad. But you didn't have to be so RUDE to my guest!" She snatched a berry tart off the table and chewed on it angrily. "And you didn't even TOUCH any of the food I worked so hard to make." As she spoke around the tart in her mouth she unintentionally spat crumbs all over the table. "So spill it, what's gotten into you huh? Finally fall out of that Oak tree of yours headfirst? Kamik looked up at his sister. "Well I.....I sortof....I was...hmnnppff..." He stammered not saying anything actually helpful. Kamla rolled her eyes. "Woah it must be something REALLY big for you to be this out of whack. Loose that pretty comb of yours? Is that it?" Kamik had no idea how to tell his sister any other way. "Kamla, that human girl who comes and sits around my tree bugging me all the time? She saw me." Kamla's eyes bugged out of her head as she choked and gagged on her tart for a few seconds before spitting it out with a dry cough. "She WHA--" She coughed again, reached for a nearby cup of water, toog a swig and slammed it down then cleared her throat. "SHE WHAT?!?"" Kamik shrugged and nodded guiltily. "Oh by the wisps Kamik! She knows where you live?!" Kamik help up his hands defensively. "Hey stop SHOUTING. I don't THINK so. She just sortof.....was sketching me...." This prompted a whole new round of questions and shouts from his sister. 

After a minute spent convincing Kamla to shut up so he could explain he laid out the whole story for her. How he'd been by the creek and the human had seen him across the water before he'd been able notice her. When his tale was done Kamla sat down in her chair with a thump, her wings splaying over the back of the chair. "I can't think of a single pixie in over a decade that's been seen by a human." Kamik nodded. "Me neither. I can't say I'm glad I was the one to break that streak. Damn annoying, little, intrusive human. First she has to come around annoying me everyday and now this!" Kamla gave her brother a look that made him even angrier. The look she always gave him when he was getting angry at a situation that she thought he himself was responsible for creating. "Don't you look at me like that." Said Kamik, wagging his finger at her accusatorially. "This is a big deal!" Kamla shrugged nonchalantly. "You're making too big a deal out of it. By the sound of things she doesn't know where you live. For all she knows you were just flitting along and you two crossed paths by coincidence and she was lucky enough to sketch a quick drawing or two. You'll be fine. Besides it's not like you aren't partially at fault. You DID literally get caught admiring your own reflection." Kamik scoffed. He stood up and started to walk away. "I don't need this, I'm heading back home." he called over his shoulder. "KAMIK. Would you hold up for a second? Relax I'm just poking fun. Goodness you're tightly wound today. Besides it's absolutely hellish out there right now. C'mon stay the night." "Minik was alright to go home." "Yes and Minik lives three minutes away. You live almost an hour to the northwest. You might be a fine flyer but even if you did make it home you'd be beat to hell before you got there." Kamik sighed and relented. "Fine fine. I'll stay............thanks." He said begrudgingly. "You make it sound like it's such a chore to stay here at my lovely home, eating my delicious food and spending time with your beloved sister.' Said Kamla with a smile. "C'mon I'll make some sweet tea. It'll pair well with the tarts you DIDN'T eat when they were fresh and warm."

An hour later Kamik lay in one of his sister's guest beds, stuffed with tea and tarts wondering why he'd gotten so worked up over nothing. Kamla was right, the human girl didn't know where he lived. Or anything besides what he looked like from a brief glimpse across the stream. He had nothing to worry about. He could just lay back, fall asleep and relax. He woke in the morning to a blood curdling sound. Halfway between a howl and scream. He sat up with a start. "What the HELL?!" He leaned out of his bed and peered down into the common area at the base of the hollow where he could see his sister laying out breakfast on the table. "Sounds like the storm got the Wendigo's riled up." She called up to him. "Wendigos? This far north of the thickett?" Kamik yawned and stretched out his wings in a full spread, side to side. Then stepped off the edge of the bed's platform and fluttered gently down to the floor. "Didn't the humans drive them south a few years back?" Kamla shrugged. "I guess they didn't drive them far enough. Now eat up before it gets cold." Kamik didn't see any reason to argue and sat down to enjoy a hearty breakfast of jelly tarts and sugary scones.

Roslin woke up, unsure of the time. There was some light spilling into her room from the window but not much. She sat up hazily and rubbed at her eyes. She got out of bed and wandered over to her window. Dark gray clouds still hung overhead. The storm had lessened but was still lingering it seemed. Not that she minded if it stuck around. She stumbled back over to her bedside and was about to flop back into bed when she noticed her sketchbook open on her bedside and the drawing of the Pixie she'd seen yesterday. Her memory of the previous day came flooding back. "Right! I've gotta get ready!" She exclaimed as she twirled around and stepped towards her door only to slip on the clothing she'd laid out for herself last night and fall backwards bumping her head quite painfully on the bedframe. "Ouch. Okay not the best start but I've had worse." She groaned and sat up. A few minutes later she was fully dressed and ready to face the day. She flew down the stairs skipping right past a warm breakfast of syrup and pancakes her grandmother had prepared. Walked right by her brother who was stuffing his face with said pancakes. Put on her coat, grabbed a hatchet that lay beside the entrance end and stepped outside into the rain. Her father had already departed to oversee work at the lumber mill. But if she didn't do her part in chopping up the firewood she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from him for a month. She worked her way to the back of the house where a large pile of log lengths sat and she went to work. Roslin hated every second of it. She hated the smell of cut lumber, the sawdust and slivers. She hated the sticky feeling she got on the tips of her fingers from the sap. But she was determined. And she managed to do an hour's worth of work in just twenty minutes. She was quite proud of that. She'd chopped up over half of the logs into kindling. More than enough to satisfy her quota. Her stomach growled loudly in protest that shed put herself through such a vigorous workout without any fuel. She went back inside and snatched a few cold pancakes off of the dining room table, rolling them up so she could eat them on the go. Her hands were already sticky from the sap, a little syrup wouldn't do her any harm she figured. She said goodbye to her grandma who wished her luck on her hunt for the pixie. She also told her brother that she'd already finished more than half of the woodcutting so he had no excuse to not finish the rest. She grabbed her satchel and stuffed in her sketchbook, extra charcoal pencils and a few extra sheets of paper just in case. She tried to find her waterskin but couldn't find it anywhere and didn't want to waste time looking for it. She threw on her heaviest jacket, hugged her grandma and then was out the door. Strolling up the road to the edge of town and eventually found her way back to the forest path she had frequented so many times before. A rolled, syrupy pancake in one hand and satchel strap in the other. "I'm feeling good about this. I'm going to find him again. I just know it. I can FEEL it." She was just about to pop the last piece of pancake into her mouth but then thought better of it. "I wonder If Pixies like pancakes?" She mused to herself with a smile and then quickened her pace to a jog. She had a Pixie to find. 

After breakfast Kamik thanked his sister and then began the journey back home. He took his time, flying casually between, over and under the branches of the redwoods. It felt good to stretch his wings and relax. This part of the forest didn't hold any real dangers to him. Despite their diminutive size most animals instinctively knew that Pixies were incredibly scrappy and weren't worth chasing after. Anything big enough to pose an actual threat to a pixie here was either too big to consider a pixie a worthwhile meal or slow and easily avoided by the quick and nimble pixies. Not to mention, pixies were more cunning and clever than anything else in the forest. An hour or so later Kamik reached his home. He flew straight up to the top of the Oak tree and slipped under the thick branch that held the door to his own home. Eager to get out of the rain and dry off he entered quickly shutting the door behind him.

Roslin had reached the creek well over an hour ago and after a thorough search of the area having found herself without a pixie she decided some cunning and patience was in order. She laid out what was left of the pancake on the large redwood stump. Then backed off and found somewhere to lie in wait. She felt like her usual spot was a bit too exposed. She finally settled on a large patch of ferns on the opposite side of the creek. Close to where the pixie had been standing yesterday. She settled down amidst the ferns and prepared herself to wait as long as she had to. As she did she noticed her waterskin still laying discarded right where she had left it yesterday. She slapped herself on the forehead for her obvious blunder. But she didn't move to retrieve it. Not only had she just gotten reasonably comfy but she was also curious to see if the pixie would interact with her waterskin. She could see it and the pancake comfortably from her current position. So she settled in, wrapped her jacket tightly around herself, pulled up the hood and waited, nestled amongst the greenery. To pass the time she licked the syrup from her fingers.

After forty-five arduous minutes of waiting Roslin was tempted to start sketching to entertain herself, The murmur of the creek and the soft pattering of the raindrops on the leaves was quite soothing and almost lulled her to sleep. After an hour she gave in and began sketching the creek. She never was happy with how her drawing of moving water turned out and figured she needed the practice. It was because of this that she almost missed the faint fluttering sound pass overhead. She froze and looked up quickly. And sure enough, a small, slim figure with large brown wings zipped through the air above her head and landed in the upper branches of the oak tree she liked to sit at the base of. No doubt about it! That was the pixie! She flipped to a fresh page and held her sketchbook at the ready. She was practically shaking with anticipation. Seh could hardly contain her excitement. She waited for him to come back down from the top of the tree with glee only......he didn't. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Then thirty. Then an hour. Then two. Roslin's excitement slowly turned to frustration. She was utterly baffled. What could he be doing up there? She was certain he hadn't left the tree, she'd been watching it the whole time like a hawk. Then it dawned on her and her excitement not only returned but redoubled. This must be where the pixie lived! His home or...nest or....burrow or whatever it was pixie's lived in. Roslin settled back down content to wait even longer now that she knew the aches and pains that wore on her as she sat there were worth it and would pay off in time. Another hour passed and she finally was rewarded for her patience. The pixie fluttered out of the tree's branches and did several graceful circles around the tree. He must have been looking around for anyone or anything. Or maybe her. Most probably her she figured. She stilled herself and was almost afraid to breathe lest she make too much noise and spook him off again. After a minute of flying around the Oak tree in lazy circles the pixie descended slowly to the ground. And landed right beside the pancake! 

Wanting to stretch his wings some more and get a bit of fresh air Kamik decided it was time to head outside for a bit. He opened his door and stepped out into the tree's branches. He disappointedly noted that it was still raining. Nothing he could do about that. He walked to the edge of the branches and lept off, doing a few lazy circles around his tree. That was, until he noticed something sitting at the base of the tree. It looked flat, thin and puffy. Some kind of fungi? He worked his way down and landed softly right next to the object in question. He wasn't sure entirely what it was but he knew it must have been left over from the human. It was some sort of foodstuff and smelled intoxicatingly sweet. The human loitered around his house annoying him and now she had the audacity the leaver her leftovers strewn about the place? The absolute GALL of it. Kamik shook his head and his wings twitched rigidly in annoyance. Didn't she know that leaving around food like this would just attract even more pests besides herself? Still the fluffy disk DID smell awfully good. Even though it had clearly been laying here for quite some time. A fact that assured Kamik that the human was nowhere nearby and hadn't been for quite some time. He tentatively reached out and poked the disk. It was soggy, and squishy. And a thin, sweet smelling film atop it had stuck to his finger. HE sniffed it curiously then held it up to his mouth and gave it a quick lick. His eyes widened in delight, then he stuck his whole finger in his mouth delighting in the sweet taste of it. Sugary foods were nigh irresistible to pixies and an essential part of their diet. Without hesitation he reached out, tearing a chunk off of the fluffy disk and stuffing it in his mouth. It was DIVINE. He took another piece, then another. Then another. And another. He couldn't get enough. His wings fluttered involuntary in rapid bouts of delight like a youngling who hadn't learned to control their wings properly yet. Kamik ate his fill and then some. Afterwards he felt stuffed and quite content. "Well at least that human is good for something it seems. Not like this was anything other than littering however so it makes no difference' he thought to himself. He licked his fingers clean but they were still quite sticky from the syrup. He couldn't risk getting it on his wings. Wet wings made it hard to fly. Sticky wings made it practically impossible. He fluttered up, feeling just a tad heavier than he had when he'd come down. He flew over to the bank of the creek. He realized he was right where the human girl had been crouched when she'd seen him. Ironic. He scoffed at the memory and dipped his arms into the water, rubbing them clean up to the elbow. He noticed something off to his side stuck on a root and half in the water. It took him a moment but he realized it was the human's drinking container. Now this DID make him angry. Unlike the sweet, fluffy cake disk, this was simply well and truly litter. Of no use to him or any creature in the woods. He walked over to the waterskin and tugged at it, then pushed. Tring to dislodge it from the root. Hoping to push it off into the creek so it would float away from his home. He gave it a few more tugs and managed to loosen it. It was a lot larger than he was and even mostly full but pixies were far stronger than their size might suggest. Most could easily lift objects many times their own weight with the proper grip. The only issue he was having was that the root seemed to have punctured the waterskin and pinned it in place. Kamik beat his wings fluttering up above the flask pulling it up from below. It rose and rose until there was a wet slipping sound and the waterskin came free and he dropped it into the water. He smiled to himself in triumph. But his smile turned to naked panic as he realized his mistake. His foot was caught on a stray thread that had frayed at the edge of the waterskin. Normally this wouldn't be an issue. Kamik was a pixie in his prime and could easily lift up a water flask. But this was more than that. The puncture in the waterskin had widened into a tear running along its side, turning it into a sort or parachute for water. Creating a monumental amount of drag. Kamik was strong but not strong enough to lift the flask with his foot AND fight against the current. All these thoughts ran through Kamik's head in less than a second. All the time it took for the stream's bloated current to take hold of the torn flask and drag it under the surface and pull Kamik along with it into the cold rushing water. 

Roslin cooed with delight as she watched the pixie hungrily eat the pancake with obvious relish. It was so cute. And gratifying to learn that her hunch had been correct. "I knew it! Of course they like pancakes. Who doesn't like pancakes?" She whispered quietly to herself. She watched the pixie happily eating for a few minutes sketching him fast as she could but also trying to keep quiet. Then he flew over to the edge of the stream to where she had sat watching him yesterday. Right next to her waterskin. Just a little bit upstream from where she now sat. It took every ounce of self restraint in her body not to giggle in girlish delight like someone half her age. He was almost as close as he'd been yesterday! And he hadn't noticed her at all. She kept on sketching him as best she could when she noticed he'd taken an interest in her waterskin. It looked like he was trying to pull it loose of the root it was stuck on. Poor thing must not have realized it was stuck. And furthermore there was no way his tiny body could possibly lift up the large item. "He must be trying to give it back to me! Maybe for the pancake! What a sweetie!" She uttered as loud as she dared. Or rather as quietly as what was left of her good sense allowed. What happened next made Roslin's jaw drop. He was actually lifting the whole thing! And not with his legs but with his wings and arms! Even though it was larger and no doubt heavier than he could possibly be when it was filled with water. But up and up he went. Not seeming to care about the seemingly impossible feat of strength he was displaying. But then he seemed to lose his grip because he dropped the waterskin into the water. Only it seemed to get caught on him and pulled him down into the water along with it. Making a small splash accompanied with an almost comical 'Plunk' sound. Roslin Gasped audibly. A second or so passed and the pixie didn't resurface. Roslin stood up and quickly rushed to the edge of the stream which while not wide,but was surprisingly deep. She could see the waterskin being pulled along by the current and a thrashing mess of bubbles and swirling water that she figured was the struggling pixie.She had to act fast. She plunged her arm into the chilling water as far as she could and hoped she was dexterous enough to grab hold of the pixie or at least the waterskin. 

Kamik's world had turned into a cold, wet swirl of bubbles and his own thrashing limbs. He wasn't a particularly strong swimmer at the best of times. No pixie was. Pixie's best attempts at swimming tended to amount to splashing along the surface until they reached the shore with desperate grasps. This was a nightmare made manifest. It was all Kamik could do to keep his mouth closed and keep the water out of his lungs let alone try and get himself out of this mess. He slammed painfully into the side of the stream and was dragged along the rocks and roots. He tried to grab hold but his hands just slipped over without getting any purchase. He felt the waterskin dip down, pulling him even deeper. His panic increased to new heights. Then he felt himself slam into something else. Something soft and smooth. But the force of the impact knocked the air out of his lungs and the water rushed in to take its place. He reflexively closed his mouth but it was already too late. He felt the suffocating water fill his chest and he thrashed desperately in a final vain attempt to free himself.

Roslin made a grab for the water skin as it passed her but it was too deep and she only succeeded in pushing it deeper. "Drat, no!" She yelled and plunged her arm deeper all the way up to her shoulder, her face skimmed the water. She felt something hit her forearm and almost wrap around it before thrashing about violently. That had to be him! She curled her fingers and palm into a sort of hook and quickly yanked her arm upwards out of the water. And there splayed out, face down and flat was the disheveled looking pixie. His limbs and wings splayed out over the sides of her hand. She quickly put another hand beside him for support as she leaned back away from the water. He rolled around limply on her hand for a moment while Roslin tried to make sense of what had just happened and assure herself that this was all real. Then the poor little pixie began convulsing violently, coughing up half of the stream onto her hand before greedily sucking in a few shuddering breaths of air.

Kamik felt the water still burning in his lungs as he miraculously found himself above the surface. He tried his best to sit up but his limbs felt heavy and weighed down. His body wouldn't obey his thoughts. His vision darkened at the edges as he couldn't get any oxygen and began to pass out. Then he shuddered as the muscles around his lungs tightened, forcing the water out of them and out through his mouth onto the strange, soft squishy ground he lay upon. After a few shuddering heaves he managed to take in a breath of air followed by another. Air had never tasted so sweet despite the burning in his throat and lungs. After a minute he managed to steady his breathing and his vision slowly cleared. He put his arms under himself and pushed up slowly. He shivered from the cold."By the spirits...." He mumbled. "Heh you're one lucky little guy" He heard the voice echo. It wasn't his. He knew that voice. It belonged to the human girl. He immediately realized that he wasn't lying on the ground at all. He looked up in terror and saw the girl's face. Smiling down at him in sympathy mixed with awe. Kamik shrieked and tried to stand up and step back while at the same time trying to take flight with his wings but it was no good, he was absolutely drenched. He fell off the girls hand and hit the ground. The girl yelped in surprise. Krmik began to run. Or do something resembling a run at least. He hobbled along desperately through the undergrowth hoping and jumping and flapping his wings harder than he ever had before in his life. "Hey careful! Watch out dont-- hey come back!" He heard the girls voice close behind him and redoubled his efforts.

Roslin watched as the disheveled pixie ran off desperately crashing and banging and tripping over roots and stalks and twigs and leaves. Flapping his wings desperately but he seemed to have trouble taking off. She called out after him but that only seemed to encourage his desperate retreat. Rosling stood up and tried to follow him. But soon after his leaps started to carry him further and further into the air each time. two feet, three feet, four feet, until finally he managed to take off into the air and fly almost steadily. He dipped a few times as he did his best to fly higher up, back to his tree. He only barely made it to the top before his wings gave out and he desperately clung to the edge of a branch and slowly pulled himself up and over the edge. Roslin let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She'd been worried he wouldn't make it and she'd have to attempt a desperate catch to save him. She ran up to the trunk of the tree and called up to him. Are you alright little guy?! Are you okay? No response. She heard a slight, wet flutter and the creaking of wood. She assumed that meant he'd gone back into his home. Poor little thing was probably scared senseless. Roslin sat down against the tree in relief. She'd done it. She'd saved the poor thing. And he'd spoken! She didn't know Pixies could speak. Apparently they couldn't swim either. "I'm learning a lot about these guys REAL quick. Or at least this one." She couldn't believe that had all just happened. And so quickly. "Good job Roslin. You just saved a little pixie. Not bad for a day's work." She sighed and slowly got to her feet, skipped over to where she'd left her sketchbook,grabbed it and sat down in her favourite spot as she began to draw and illustrate everything that had just happened as best she could. Muttering and arguing with herself over the details.


End file.
